High-class Spring Joy

"Miss, look closely, the guard next to the Third Young Master went to the very back of the caravan. It was too far away for me to see clearly, but I could only make out that it was a maid in a blue dress."

Jiang Qingge's maidservant reported, "Logically speaking, the maidservant and servant at the very end of the caravan should belong to the Song family."

When Empress Dowager Sui traveled to Xiangguo Temple, she was accompanied by Princess Jing'an, His Highness the Crown Prince, and other members of the royal family. There was a strict and fixed hierarchy in the carriage procession, from the front to the back of the carriages.

The Song family wasn't actually considered low-ranking. Lord Song was a fifth-rank official, which would certainly not be considered a minor official or a small family in other places.

However, a fifth-rank official in Bianjing, the capital city, under the emperor's nose, would naturally be ranked last among the marquises and earls, who were high-ranking officials of the second rank. The Song family, a family of fifth-rank officials, could only be ranked last.

"The Song family? I've never heard of them having any connection with the Third Young Master."

Jiang Qingge closed her eyes to rest, then thought for a moment, "Let's go find Jingyu!"

-

After a long and tiring journey, the carriage convoy arrived at Xiangguo Temple.

The Empress Dowager, accompanied by her family, went to the Great Hero Sword in front of the temple to pay homage to the Buddha.

After more than half an hour, he gave the order to distribute the prepared courtyards to the families of the officials.

The Marquis's residence in China was a capable institution within the Marquis's household. The courtyard allocated to them for the transaction was neither too remote nor too small; it should be considered the best courtyard besides those of the Empress Dowager, Princess Jing'an, and His Highness the Crown Prince.

The third and fifth young masters, along with Madam Dou, lived in the courtyard.

The maids and servants who accompanied them, such as Qingyuan, lived in a side courtyard.

Qingyuan was really tired after walking all day. If it weren't for Zheji leading the horse, she probably wouldn't have made it to Xiangguo Temple.

After Qingyuan arrived, she quickly packed her luggage. Seeing that she had nothing to do at the moment, she couldn't help but fall asleep.

To her surprise, when Qingyuan woke up again, it was already night, and the outside world was shrouded in mist.

It seemed that the servants and maids on night watch had all gone to sleep. Qingyuan couldn't stay still in the room and couldn't fall asleep either, so she thought she would take a walk in the courtyard.

Suddenly, a woman's shrill scream rang out. Although it was not very clear in the darkness of the night, it was close by and seemed to come from outside the courtyard. Qing Yuan's hair stood on end.

This…

Why would there be a woman's screams coming from Xiangguo Temple in the middle of the night?!

Could it be... could something have happened?

But Xiangguo Temple seemed very peaceful; those who needed to rest had already rested.

She lacked the ability to protect herself, and her health was currently compromised. Furthermore, this secluded courtyard was quite remote, some distance from the masters' courtyards, and backed by Mount Muling.

If we go out now and something happens in the middle of nowhere, even if we scream our lungs out, we probably won't wake anyone up to ask for help.

Just as Qingyuan was about to turn around, a sudden scream rang out again.

It came in waves, but the woman seemed to have run out of strength to shout, her voice growing softer and weaker.

Qingyuan clenched her fists in the courtyard, paused for a moment, and then simply turned around and went to the edge of the courtyard.

She would glance at it, just a quick, furtive look!

If it's truly possible to save them, then she should do her best to save them.

But after only a couple of steps outside, Qingyuan saw First Blood and a purse that looked extremely familiar to her.

That was a gift she had just given to Princess Jing'an a few days ago!

Princess Jing'an is in trouble!

Qingyuan grabbed a thick stick and ran out following the trail of blood, eventually finding her way to Mount Muling.

Sure enough, the screams grew closer and closer. Qingyuan followed the screams and only when she got to the front did she see that Princess Jing'an's ankle was caught in a beast's trap, and there was a large pool of blood. Her shoes and socks were also soaked with blood.

"Blue Kite!!"

Princess Jing'an was overjoyed to see Qing Yuan. "Come quickly and save me! If you save me, I'll give you any reward you desire!"

"Princess, please bear with it. We can't stay here any longer. This blood alone will attract wolves from the mountainside. Please bear with it for now, and I'll take you to a safer place."

As Qingyuan spoke, she hoisted Princess Jing'an onto her shoulders, placing most of her weight on them.

The night was too dark, and Qingyuan was dragging the princess who could barely walk, so they couldn't go very far and had to find a cave nearby.

Princess Jing'an watched as Qingyuan lit a fire at the cave entrance and asked, "What are you doing? Why don't you come inside and warm me up?"

"There are many wolves on this mountain, and the princess is covered in blood. Wolves are afraid of fire, so this is used to drive them away."

Qingyuan rushed to Princess Jing'an, intending to remove the wolf trap for her. However, as soon as his hand touched the trap, Princess Jing'an couldn't help but gasp.

Seeing Qingyuan subconsciously loosen her grip, Princess Jing'an took two deep breaths:

"Fine, push harder. I'm the only princess in the entire Song Kingdom; I can handle this pain!"

Seeing Princess Jing'an's appearance, Qingyuan did not hesitate and used all her strength to open the animal trap in one go.

Princess Jing'an clenched her lips tightly, but the sudden, sharp pain made her open her mouth and let out a scream. However, she quickly recovered and endured the pain with a pale face.

Qingyuan took out the last two candies from her sleeve and brought them to Princess Jing'an's lips, explaining, "These are candies I bought in Bianjing City. I originally intended to give them to my friends, but now that it's time, I've taken the liberty of presenting them to you, Your Highness. Please try them; perhaps they will help you feel a little better."

"How could such a thing possibly enter the mouth of this princess?"

Princess Jing'an frowned, staring at the two candies in Qing Yuan's hand. They looked rather rough in terms of craftsmanship, and there was a hint of disdain in her eyes.

But seeing that Qingyuan was about to take the candy back, he hurriedly spoke up: "How dare you! I don't want it, so why don't you just stuff it into my mouth?"

At a time like this, she could still make people laugh. Qingyuan suddenly felt a little more favorably disposed toward this princess, so she held the candy to Princess Jing'an's lips again, almost touching them.

Princess Jing'an took a bite, then raised her chin and said, "Fine...fine, you've got heart. Next time you feed me, you'd better feed me something better. At least buy from Biguixuan. What kind of stuff is this? If it weren't for this occasion, I wouldn't eat it!"

Despite saying this, Princess Jing'an immediately took a bite of the second candy.

Looking at Princess Jing'an in front of her, Qingyuan felt, for some reason, as if she were taking care of a child.

Red Bean's temper is somewhat similar; she needs to be coaxed to eat.

But when Qingyuan looked at the princess in front of her, she suddenly realized that the princess was actually only eighteen years old, and she had heard that she was three months younger than her.

Princess Jing'an felt uncomfortable under Qing Yuan's gaze. She turned to look at her, her tone fierce, but her authority had diminished considerably: "What are you laughing at? Am I that funny right now?"

Qingyuan's smile remained unchanged as she added firewood to the fire, saying, "How could this servant dare? It's just that this servant noticed the princess seems to have a bit of a liking for the candies."

"How could that be?! What kind of status do I have? How could I like these kinds of candies? You're talking nonsense." She looked a bit fierce as she said this, but the way she turned her head away was extremely awkward, just like a child throwing a tantrum.

Suddenly, several wolf howls came from outside!

Qingyuan instantly stood up, her hair standing on end. She picked up a thick wooden stick and slowly moved to the edge of the cave. As soon as she poked her head out, she saw several wolves gathered not far away.

As expected, it was Princess Jing'an's blood that attracted the wolf pack. With so many wolves, there was no way she and Princess Jing'an could escape!

If you take even half a step out of this cave or cross this fire, you will surely be pounced on and devoured by the wolves.

The only thing they could do now was gather firewood around the cave and try to make the fire last until dawn. They shouted, hoping it might attract someone to save them.

Or perhaps the pack of wolves will disperse when the sun is at its zenith.

Qingyuan didn't dare to sleep all night, while Princess Jing'an next to her, due to excessive blood loss and excruciating pain, drifted off to sleep in a daze.

As dawn broke, the sun slowly rose from behind the mountains.

Qingyuan added firewood all night long, not daring to close her eyes. I watched as the firewood in my hand was about to burn out, and the fire in front of me gradually went out, but the pack of wolves still did not disperse.

As the fire gradually died down, the pack of wolves strode forward, one step at a time, poised to pounce on the cave at any moment!

As the pack of wolves drew closer, Qingyuan could only retreat step by step, gripping the thick wooden stick in her hand tightly. The lead wolf was already pouncing on Qingyuan.

Qingyuan swung the wooden stick in her hand, trying to drive the wolf away, but her resistance not only failed to scare away the wolf, but the pack of wolves pounced on her instead!

The next moment, a cold light flashed before my eyes!

A long sword instantly cleaved the wolves to the ground, and the next second, a man's low, hoarse, yet concerned voice rang out:

"Ah Yuan! I'm here."

By the time Qingyuan could see the scene before her, Chu Jingxian had already swiftly killed all the wolves and was standing right in front of her.

"Ah Yuan, I can't see. Tell me, are you hurt?"

Just as Qingyuan was about to speak, her hand was grabbed.

Suddenly, a figure rushed in from the side and grabbed Qingyuan's wrist tightly: "Ayuan! How are you!? This time I wasn't late again. This time, it wasn't someone else who saved you, it was me who saved you."

Looking at the two people in front of her, Qingyuan really wanted to tell the Third Young Master that she was not injured and was fine, just a little frightened, but nothing serious.

However, the Third Young Master and the Fifth Young Master brought a large number of people with them, including many servants and guards. With so many people around, and the presence of the Third Young Master on one side and the Fifth Young Master on the other, it was not a suitable time or situation to get involved with either of them.

Qingyuan bowed and explained, "This servant is fine, please don't worry, young master."

Qingyuan was saying this to the Third Young Master. Seeing that the Third Young Master gradually backed away, Qingyuan understood that the Third Young Master understood her meaning.

But some people didn't understand.

The young master had already been rescued by the guards brought by the third and fifth young masters, and there were only a few people left in the cave.

Chu Jingyu, thinking Qingyuan was speaking to him, grabbed her wrist in public and said, "Ah Yuan, what are you doing on this mountain so late at night? Don't you know there are many wolves on this mountain? What would I do if something happened to you? If I hadn't sent someone to look for you this morning to help me get up, I wouldn't have known you were missing and in danger. You're weak, you shouldn't have wandered off like that, you should have waited for me in the side courtyard. Although you're not the one who's injured, it's still a huge loss if something like this happens again. I don't know how anxious or worried I'll be, or how quickly I can get you out of here."

Hearing this, Qingyuan felt a surge of irritation. Without a word, she shook off the hand gripping her wrist: "If you, young master, don't want to come, then don't come. Why come all this way without even asking, and then immediately berate me? What's the point? Imagine if the eldest daughter of the Jiang family were in danger today, how would you have reacted? When you found her, would you have said something like this?"

Qingyuan's words were somewhat barbed; she couldn't bear Chu Jingyu any longer, and her words left Chu Jingyu stunned and stumped.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qingyuan broke free from Chu Jingyu's hand and stepped out of the cave.

Watching Qingyuan's retreating figure, Chu Jingyu didn't know how to respond, but he felt increasingly unfamiliar with the person in front of him.

At least the Qingyuan of the past would never have questioned him so sarcastically.

Qingyuan's question kept swirling in Chu Jingyu's mind. He couldn't give a definite answer because he knew that if the injured person in front of him was Jiang Qingge, he would never have said those words.

Coupled with Qingyuan's unwavering departure, Chu Jingyu grew increasingly agitated. As he emerged from the cave, he noticed Chu Jingxian was still there: "Brother, what are you still doing here? Are you planning to kill all the wolves on this mountain?"

Chu Jingxian hadn't left the cave and had overheard the entire conversation between Chu Jingyu and Qingyuan.

He chuckled cryptically, "Fifth Brother, there's no need to be so hostile. If you're truly troubled, you should first clarify your own feelings. Otherwise, don't wait until one day you lose both the big picture and the small details—that would be too late for regrets."

"Brother, that's quite amusing. Ge'er and I have always been kindred spirits, deeply in love. How could we possibly harbor resentment over such trivial matters?"

Chu Jingyu sneered, feeling that his elder brother was truly ignorant, uttering such absurd words. He then said with unwavering confidence:

"And then there's A-Yuan. We've known each other for decades, how could she possibly become estranged from me? Besides, who would try to take her away from me?"

As he said this, Chu Jingxian's smile widened, and he casually sheathed his sword.

"Yeah, who would steal it?"

He wondered who would try to steal it.

Chu Jingyu was completely bewildered by Chu Jingxian's question. He felt that his older brother must be either blind or not, asking him a question that he himself couldn't answer.

Chu Jingyu was too lazy to bother with Chu Jingxian, so he lifted his leg and chased after Qingyuan's figure.

As soon as Chu Jingyu left, Zheji and Chensha came out.

Chen Sha said irritably, "Why do I feel like this Fifth Young Master is getting more and more shameless? His eyes are like they're on his forehead. From what I heard, he even seemed to look down on Miss Qing Yuan?"

Zheji clicked his tongue:

"Are you stupid? This Fifth Young Master is the type who wants both the watermelon and the sesame seed. He wants to enjoy the blessings of having two women at the same time. He wants the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, and he also wants Miss Qingyuan."

"Let's go."

Chu Jingxian lifted his leg and walked away, but when he passed Chen Sha, he paused and whispered something in his ear.

After Chu Jingxian left, Zheji hurriedly went to ask Chensha, "Tell me quickly, what were you whispering to each other just now? I couldn't hear it!"

"I don't quite understand either. What you're saying is... what you're saying is that he was able to take over the shop that makes poached chicken and make it famous throughout the world."

As Chen Sha spoke, he scratched his head, still not understanding.